One Prank Too Far
by Jenette Black
Summary: Lily and James have been Rivalries since the beginning, but is there really ONE prank that can change it all?


_One Prank Too Far _

_By Jenette Black_

Summary: Lily and James have been Rivalries since the beginning, but is there really ONE prank that can change it all?

Disclaimer: Aw you mean I really DON'T own Sirius? Fine. All of the characters belong to J.K. I don't own anything. Literally, the plot is probably about a million other peoples. I know it's been done before but hey; each one is a LITTLE different. And Hannah, don't hurt me, I didn't use ANY original characters - so none of them are anything like me! And I don't care if the plot's been used millions of times!!!!!!

A/N: Ya, if you've done this before and you don't want me "stealing your plot" just say so when/if you review and I'll take it off. I'm not that bad, I just HAD to write a Lily/James fic. Seriously, I feel a lack of love. So, I had to write something Romantic. I'm going to shut up now, because you probably didn't click on this fic to read my Messages. Ta ta.

3E 3E

"There, perfect." James Potter sighed as he put the finishing touches on '_The Best Prank Ever._' Everything was perfect and in place. All he needed now was a target: Lily Evans. As soon as she left her dorm... well, let's just say she'd be having a hard time getting all of the maple syrup out of her hair. James laughed a little, thinking of how ingenious his plan was. But, if it really was perfect, why was he trying to ignore the feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach? He laughed once more, trying to hide the guilt, before calling to Sirius Black, his best friend.

" 'Oy, Padfoot." James called. Sirius looked up from the book he was writing (_'101 ways to Torture the Slytherins') _By Sirius P. Black and smiled.

"This one beats the cake out of my plan." He laughed, pushing his shoulder length black hair out of his metallic-silver eyes. Sirius was extremely handsome, and he knew it. He had ladies practically BEGGING him to go out with them. Mostly, he would politely turn them down. He'd stopped going out with girls for fun in his fifth year. Now, in his seventh, he was looking for a real relationship, not just a fling. His attempts, so far, had been futile. He just couldn't seem to find a girl that liked him for more than his looks. He was starting to give up all hope of ever finding a real love.

"Isn't it beautiful?" James sighed again, the pit of guilt getting bigger. _Why_ did he feel that guilt?

"When's Miss Evans coming?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I figured you could call her." James said simply. "You two are at least on speaking terms."

"Good point, mate." Sirius patted James's back. "Hey, Lily! I need help with something. Can you explain this problem to me?" Sirius said, fighting a fit of laughter.

"Sure," Lily called back. "I'll be down in a sec."

"All right." He responded, and then burst out laughing.

"Shut UP!" James whispered also in a fit of laughs.

"She'll hear us." The two abruptly stopped when they heard the dorm door open. Lily stepped onto the staircase and screamed as she slipped on the chocolate sauce, causing her to slide down the stairs, which were covered in feathers. As soon as she reached the bottom, she slid into a pole which gave way and a 10-gallon container full of maple syrup spilled all over her feather-covered body. James and Sirius burst out laughing. Between laughs, Sirius grabbed a camera and screamed,

"SMILE!" He then took about a dozen pictures of the screaming Lily. As soon as the two marauders stopped laughing and Lily stopped screaming, she cried,

"James Potter! You are the most insufferable person to walk the face of the earth!" She stormed back to her dormitory, careful to step over the chocolate, and slammed the door after her. The guilt in James's stomach rose to his throat. Sirius started cracking up again, but stopped when he saw that James wasn't laughing back.

"'S wrong James?" He asked.

"I guess I just feel a little bad is all."

"Why? Evans deserves this for breaking your widdle heart."

"I guess, but don't you think that was a bit much?"

"Of course not! It was genius! You're not saying that you really DO feel for Evans, are you?"

"That's the problem, I DON'T KNOW!" James screamed. "It's kinda confusing. I don't understand it. IM SO CONFUSED!" he screamed again in frustration.

"Geeze, chill out man."

"I guess I should go apologize."

"I would wait," Sirius said slowly, "until AFTER she's taken a nice, long, shower."

3E 3E 3E 3E

About an hour later, while James and Sirius were playing a game of chess, they heard the running of water from the showers stop.

"Give her another 30 minutes and she MIGHT be dressed." Sirius laughed, commanding his rook to C4.

"I figure I'm gonna go check in a few minutes. 3 or 4 more games, maybe." James answered, capturing Sirius's rook with his own Bishop.

"At the rate they're going, I'd say 6 or 7 games." Sirius said moving his queen to the spot where James's king was. "Checkmate!"

"Sorry Padfoot. I just can't concentrate now." James sighed.

"One more game then?" Sirius begged. "We can use your board."

"Nah, I'm good. I think I'm gonna take a walk." James got up and walked out of the common room. Where he was going, he didn't know. All he knew was that he needed to get his mind off of everything.

3E 3E

"That insufferable–" Lily finished that sentence with a word which would've grounded her had her mother heard it. It had taken her a good hour in the shower to get all of the syrup out of her hair. She went to her four-poster and closed the drapes around her before changing. It was a Saturday afternoon, and she had nothing planned, so she slipped on a pair of her most comfortable jeans and a baggy tee shirt. She looked quickly down at her now ruined outfit and sighed, cursing again. It hadn't been anything special, but it was one of her nicer outfits, like one of those outfits that she'd wear to a date in hogsmeade. She had planned on going out with a few of her girlfriends, but "Potter" had changed those plans. "I'm never going to be able to get this out." She muttered. She went over to her dresser, threw the outfit in a plastic bag, and put it in her bottom drawer, which had all of her other ruined items from the marauders. The worst one –next to this– was her Astronomy book. She'd had to get a new one at hogsmeade after what James did to it. After Lily had rejected him for about the tenth time that day, he cursed the book so it said, written and spoken, "I LOVE JAMES POTTER" over and over. No matter how hard she tried, Lily couldn't get it off. She cursed James once more before storming back to her bed. She flopped down on her bed, her face on her pillow, and cried. "Why?" she sobbed. It was one of the ONLY questions she didn't know the answer to. "Why me? Why does it have to be me? What did I ever do to him? What's wrong with me? Have I really done anything wrong? After everything else I have to go through, why does HE have to make EVERYTHING worse?" She punched the pillow, which was now tear-stained, which just made her more upset. "WHY ME?" She screamed into the pillow. Just then, she heard a knock on the Dorm door. _Who would be up here now? _She wondered. (A/N: I know, really _REALLY_ cheesy, and lame)

"Hold on a sec." She cried, hastily grabbing some tissues to dry her face, which was extremely blotchy. She cursed again before fixing her bed sheets.

"Come in." She called. When she looked at who was entering, she gasped. "POTTER YOU FILTHBAG!" She screamed. "GET OUT THIS INSTANT!!! HOW DID YOU GET UP HERE?"

"Lily, just listen." James said calmly. "I just came here to say sorry for what I just did earlier. And I got up here with a little help of Marauder magic." He smirked, hiding his wand.

"What trick are you trying to pull on me this time? Getting me to warm up to you, is that it? So you can pour something else on my head, is that it? Why don't you just leave me alone? Pick on someone else for a change!"

"No, Lily, I really mean it, I'm sorry." James sounded sincere enough.

"All right, if you really are saying that truthfully, then why?" Lily asked quietly.

"Why what?"

"Why everything. Why me? Why not someone else? What did I ever do?" Lily quickly glanced in James' dark brown eyes and felt _something_ but she wasn't sure what. It wasn't hatred, but it wasn't love either.

"I guess," James said slowly, with emotion. "I guess I just do that because I love you Lily." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. James Potter, the man she has hated since they both met, _loved_ her? "When I asked you out repeatedly," James continued "it wasn't just because of your beautiful face, like everyone thought. I have feelings for you, strong ones. Feelings of love."

He looked up, and for a split-second, his eyes met her emerald-green ones. Lily felt the same thing, for that split second, as she did only a moment ago. She felt like nothing was wrong, that all that mattered was James and she. Then, without any warning, James grabbed Lily's hand with his. At first she gasped, but then relaxed. It felt _good_ to have his hand in hers. Lily started absent-mindedly to move her head down, glancing around the room, avoiding James' eyes. James took his free hand and lifted her chin, so she had no choice but to look into his eyes.

He then did something just as unexpected. He leaned forward, so their faces were barley an inch apart, and kissed her. Lily didn't know what to do until his lips reached hers. She felt just as she did when she looked into his eyes, only better. She felt so good that she took her arms and wrapped them around his neck, as if trying to bring him closer, and kissed him back. James wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling as close as possible. At last, their lips departed, but they stayed close together in their embrace.

"I love you, too James." Lily whispered surprised that she could feel such a strong emotion for the man she hated, well _used_ to hate, all over a kiss. They stayed there in silence for a moment before Lily broke it, but not by talking. She started crying on James's shoulder.

"Shh," James soothed. He could somehow tell what was bothering her. "It's all right. We're together now, that's all that matters."

"I know," Lily sobbed, "But think of all of the years we've wasted, fighting and everything. It just seems, well, strange that we're here together."

"Oh Lily," James whispered. "It's ok, we have plenty of time now to make it up." He lifted her chin up again and gazed into her beautiful face. "We're here together now, it's all that matters." He repeated.

"I guess you're right." Lily said, drying her eyes with the edge of her bedspread.

"Come on, let's go downstairs and have some fun. I know of a perfect cloak we could use." Lily knew only to well of the cloak he was talking about, and smiled.

"Sure. Live the crazy life, right?" she laughed.

"Ok then, lets go!" James got off from the bed (A/N: They were SITTING on it for all you perverted people out there), grabbed Lily's hands and helped her up. The two rushed to the Boys Dorm, James grabbed the Invisibility cloak, stuffed it in his bag, and they both walked downstairs hand in hand to the common room.

"Whoa!" Sirius stammered when he saw the two. His eyes got even bigger when he saw the cloak sticking out of James's bag. Lily and James just laughed, as they walked out of the common room, hand in hand.

3E 3E 3E 3E

So, how'd you like it? I know I know it's been done about a million times before, but I have a thing with romantic Lily/James fics, and I couldn't resist.

And about James getting into the Girls Dorm - He's a Marauder! They probably found a way - somehow. I'm too lazy to describe how he did. (Actually, I don't know how he would but whatever) That and the fact that I wrote this Pre OotP but had no way of uploading it until just recently.

And - sorry if the formatting's a bit screwy ... yeah

P.S. This story made me feel better, until I read it over. Is it just me or is this a really sappy love story? I hope it's not just me because it made me close to tears, even though I wrote it. Yes, I am a sappy, sensitive, over-emotional freak; even I'm admitting it, so it must be true. Someone save me from this world of fan fictions and sappy songs. I AM SO PATHETIC!!!!!! :-(


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